Ted was invited to speak at the July 2009 PiFan - 13th Puchon International Fantastic Film Festival in Bucheon South Korea. He accepted their invite and we made the 16 hour journey.
We arrived in Bucheon, dropped our bags in the hotel room and walked across the street to a restaurant for our first taste of Korean food with Thomas one of the conference organizers.
Bucheon looks like an industrialized city and it was a humid 90 degree evening so I assumed AC would be everywhere. There was no AC in the restaurant but there was a barbecue grill sitting in the middle of a small table. I thought the place must be packed so they seated us at a table with a grill but we're not going to have barbecue, inside, in a heat wave? Silly western girl... don't assume anything.
Korean's love their barbecue. Rightfully so - Korean barbecue is very tasty. They love it so much that they barbecue inside even in a heat wave. A waiter cooked this wonderful piece of Korean beef on what felt like a blast furnace inches from our hands and arms.
While it cooked we started on our side dishes. Kimchee, cold soup, green veggies; all very good and very, very, very spicy, washed down with Soju. This is what it must feel like dining on the sun yet enjoying every bite.
After dinner we went to opening night ceremonies for PiFan. We walked into a ballroom where this big party was going on. People were talking, drinking, eating, talking on cell phones, checking everyone else out.
A swirl of socializing continued as various people got up on a low stage to give opening remarks, which were barely audible over the sound of the crowd.
Fashion was eclectic; casual to office dressy. But there was one small clique of women in long black evening gowns, beautifully accessorized, strolling through the crowd.
Ted and I left for a walk around the neighborhood. The sides of office buildings seem to double as billboards. Vertical space gets rented for neon ads making the office districts insanely bright.
We found old arcade amusement park gaming machines scattered around the neighborhood. The stuffed bears looked sad trapped in their glass cases waiting for someone to drop a coin and rescue them.
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